Blue Collar Causalities

Friday, January 2, 2015

Several boats broke loose from their moorings during 40-mph wind gusts and fierce waves in Avalon Harbor. Two men died Tuesday when fierce winds and big waves tore boats from their moorings and tossed vessels onto the rocky shore in one of the worst storms to hit Santa Catalina Island. Timothy Mitchell, 39, an Avalon Harbor Patrol officer, was crushed to death between a boat and a rock. Bruce Ryder, 53, was found floating in the water at 6:30 a.m. and died at a hospital, officials said. The Harbor Patrol officer died while trying to save a dive boat, the King Neptune, from sinking. He jumped off the boat as it came "perilously close" to striking rocks in the harbor, officials said.

Daniel Whiston, from Dulverton, was allowed to drive the dumper, which had several serious defects, before it overturned down the embankment at Sweetings Farm, near Tiverton, on 27 October 2009. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident, and prosecuted Mr Whiston’s employers, company directors William Friend and Robert Plume, at Exeter Crown Court on 22nd December 2014. The court heard that Plume and Friend’s company, Wedgewood Buildings Ltd, had been contracted to expand a pond on the farm, which involved excavating and moving spoil around the site. Mr Whiston received about 30 minutes’ training from a more experienced colleague, who was also operating an excavator and filling the dumper, before he started his first day’s work. During the afternoon, the excavator operator, who was the only other worker on site saw the fully-loaded dumper driven by Mr Whiston topple off the side of the causeway and down the 60 degree slope, turning over and crushing him underneath.

INWOOD, N.Y. (WABC) -- The funeral for volunteer firefighter Joseph Sanford Jr. was a solemn affair Wednesday after the Inwood man was killed in the line of duty. "We call it the brotherhood. When a tragedy like this happens, it happens to all of us. This could happen to any of us," said Robert Leonard, of the Firemen's Association State of New York. Sanford, 43, had served with the Inwood (Long Island) Fire Department for 17 years and had once been assistant fire chief. He died Dec. 23, four days after battling a house fire in Woodmere, where he fell through the floor into the basement and suffered a heart attack. The flames broke out in the basement of the empty home on Central Avenue just before 4 a.m. Officials said Sanford was one of the first on the scene after the initial 911 call. It is unclear if other firefighters even knew he was inside, as his lifeless body was found accidentally by other firefighters making their way through the house. "Everyday these guys for no pay put their lives on their line for us, to protect our lives and property, and they deserve so much credit for doing so," said Michael Fragin, a trustee of Lawrence, on Wednesday. Firefighters from Long Island, Maryland and Buffalo came to the funeral to honor Sanford, who was known as a firefighters' type of guy -- tough, strong and gutsy."It's important for his family to know that we're there for them. It's important for his fire department family to know that we're there for them," said Ret. Chief Mike Lombardo, of the Buffalo Fire Dept.

BENSON, N.C. — Traffic is moving again on I-40 in Johnston County after a pedestrian was hit and killed.
At
about 7 a.m., 79-year-old Roy Godwin was hit and killed while crossing
the highway near mile marker 324. Godwin had worked at the rest area on
the east side of the highway for nearly 20 years.
NCDOT says he
was struck on the innermost westbound lane by a 2003 Chevy pickup truck.
The driver, who is from Benson, will not be charged.
Traffic on both sides of the highway was shut down for nearly two hours.

In the Community

Authorities said a worker at the Palm Beach International Raceway was killed by an out-of-control motorcycle during a race.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office reported that Robert Hoffstetter was killed Sunday while working as a corner marshal during a Florida Track Days event.
The racer later told investigators the throttle on his bike became stuck in the open position, preventing him from being able to stop. As he approached a corner, he jumped into a grass area, leaving the motorcycle to continue down the track and into Hoffstetter.
The Palm Beach Post reported that Hoffstetter was airlifted to a West Palm Beach hospital, where he died from his injuries.

A rookie Flagstaff, Arizona, police officer with less than one year
on the job was shot and killed while checking on a domestic violence
incident before the suspect turned the gun on himself, according to the Arizona Republic. Officer Tyler Stewart, 24, was interviewing Robert William Smith, 28, in connection with an earlier domestic violence call about an incident between Smith and his girlfriend, Sgt. Margaret Bentzen, a Flagstaff police spokeswoman, told the Republic.

VIENNA, Va. (WUSA 9) -- Hicham Najdi was killed Monday, simply doing his job.
The 45-year-old Najdi, who some called AJ, was a tow truck driver.
"All
around fun to be around, always joking, making people laugh. He was a
really good guy, Worked really hard. Basically worked all four weeks out
of the month and took just one weekend off," Dan Strouth, manager at
Fairfax Towing, said. Virginia State Troopers said Najdi was
prepping a disabled vehicle on the Tysons Corner stretch of I-495 to
load on to his tow truck.That's when troopers said the driver of an
on-coming box truck crossed into the shoulder where Najdi was working,
hit and killed him instantly.

WORKPLACE Health and Safety have been called in to investigate an incident
at Coonarr Beach where a 53-year-old man has died. A Bundaberg Police spokesman
said the man had fallen from a roof at the Coonarr Rd farm shortly after 2pm
today. He was believed to be a business owner. Investigations are continuing. A
Columbus city engineer has died, more than two weeks after he was critically
injured in a horrific Downtown crash that also killed an Ohio State intern. Bill
Lewis, 58, the city’s chief mobility engineer, was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m.
yesterday at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, Columbus police said. Lewis had
been in grave condition, with one of his legs amputated immediately after the
crash and the other recently amputated. He also had suffered major head trauma
and internal injuries. Stephanie Fibelkorn, 21, the Ohio State engineering
student who died in the Dec. 12 crash, was an intern for Lewis. She was working
her last day at the city engineer’s office on the day she was killed. The two
were walking to a meeting when they were struck. “Obviously, we are all very
saddened,” said Dan Williamson, speaking on behalf of Columbus Mayor Michael B.
Coleman last night.

A worker at the Ford Motor Co. assembly plant in Claycomo was
accidentally struck by a piece of equipment and killed there Tuesday
morning. Ford officials did not identify the worker, who died in
what they said was an “occupational incident.” They gave no information
about where in the plant the accident occurred or any details about what
caused it. The incident was reported to the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration, which has started an investigation, including
taking photos at the plant and interviewing workers, said Bonita
Winingham, OSHA’s acting area regional administrator for the Kansas City
area. Winingham said OSHA learned that the worker was struck by a piece of equipment but did not say what it was being used for. “I
believe they are building a new assembly line in Claycomo, and a piece
of equipment struck and killed this worker,” Winingham said.
Tuesday’s
construction-related death is the second in which a worker was struck
by a piece of equipment since Oct. 1 in Missouri, Winingham said. Three
such deaths occurred in the state from Oct. 1, 2013, to Sept. 30, 2014. “These
are tragic and preventable deaths,” Winingham said. “We want to express
our condolences to the friends and family of the worker.”

RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. -- The Randolph County Sheriff's Office says
they are investigating after a man died while working on repairing a
dump truck. Deputies said they responded to 5925 Union Church Road at 11 a.m. Friday morning after receiving a call about a deceased person. Sheriff Maynard Reid told WFMY News 2 Michael Sparks was working on
repairing a dump truck bed by cutting sections of the flooring and
removing them. When he was cutting a section of the flooring, he was
struck in the head by the metal he was cutting. Deputies say he was
pronounced dead at the scene by Randolph County EMS. Randolph County deputies say Sparks was the owner of Sparky's Contracting INC. Reid says he will be undergoing an autopsy at the OCME in Raleigh. The investigation is ongoing. Randolph Co. Sheriff's Office

RUSKIN - Authorities have recovered the body of a
construction worker who fell and was trapped in mud at a Tampa Bay-area
wastewater treatment plant.John Rose was walking with co-workers Thursday along a trench at
the Ruskin plant when he either slipped or the ground gave way. The
rain-soaked ground caved in around Rose even as a co-worked tried to
pull him out, said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Chief Ron Rogers. Rose's
body was found after an eight-hour attempt to free him from the sand
and mud. Rescue workers had hoped that Rose might have found an air
pocket or crawled inside a 30-inch-wide pipe in the bottom of the
trench. "He was in 6 to 8 feet of sand and mud," said Fire Rescue
Deputy Chief of Operations Michael Guincho. "He had been in a bad
situation for a long time." Guincho said Rose apparently died of suffocation. An autopsy will be performed by the medical examiner. It
wasn't clear what caused the ground to open up beneath Rose. Guincho
said heavy rains and recent digging to install the pipe may have been to
blame. Rose's hometown was not released. Authorities said his
relatives were on the scene with officials from his employer, PCL
Construction. A regional manager for PCL Construction, Richard
Hewitt, declined to release additional details. "We are aware that there
has been an incident on site and we are providing any assistance to
authorities involved," Hewitt said.

A news helicopter for KOMO-TV has crashed outside its station near the Seattle Space Needle and two people have died. The station says the copter was apparently coming in for a landing on
the station's rooftop this morning when it possibly hit the side of
the building and went down, hitting several vehicles on Broad Street. The helicopter and cars exploded in flames and casualties were
reported. The Seattle Fire Department later confirmed two deaths. A man
in a car was critically injured. People in the area reported seeing a huge cloud of smoke as firefighters and police responded.

WORKPLACE Health and Safety have been called in to
investigate an incident at Coonarr Beach where a 53-year-old man has died. A
Bundaberg Police spokesman said the man had fallen from a roof at the Coonarr
Rd farm shortly after 2pm today. He was believed to be a business owner.
Investigations are continuing.

BUCHANAN COUNTY (KWWL) - A Coggon man died on Monday after falling off of a grain trailer. The
Buchanan County Sheriff's Office says they were called to 3325 330th
Street at around 2:15 p.m. Monday for a report of a man who was
unresponsive after falling. Deputy Cory Hartman says 75-year-old Donald Reilly was walking on top of a grain trailer when he fell to the ground. Reilly
was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids before being
transferred to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa
City. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

A 30-year-old Keaau man injured last week in a butane honey oil lab explosion in Puna has died from his injuries.
The
man, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his family,
was pronounced dead at 5:20 p.m. Thursday at Straub Medical Center in
Honolulu, according to the Hawaii County Police Department.
The
Dec. 28 blast on 17th Avenue in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision
also knocked out windows, melted plumbing fixtures and blew the doors
off cabinets, according to police. At the scene, police found evidence
of a lab used to manufacture butane honey oil, a marijuana byproduct. A
28-year-old woman, who was not home at the time of the explosion, was
subsequently arrested and then released pending investigation.
- See more at: http://westhawaiitoday.com/community-bulletin/man-dies-after-lab-explosion-puna#sthash.8JbzHcjT.dpuf

A 30-year-old Keaau man injured last week in a butane honey oil lab explosion in Puna has died from his injuries.
The
man, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his family,
was pronounced dead at 5:20 p.m. Thursday at Straub Medical Center in
Honolulu, according to the Hawaii County Police Department.
The
Dec. 28 blast on 17th Avenue in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision
also knocked out windows, melted plumbing fixtures and blew the doors
off cabinets, according to police. At the scene, police found evidence
of a lab used to manufacture butane honey oil, a marijuana byproduct. A
28-year-old woman, who was not home at the time of the explosion, was
subsequently arrested and then released pending investigation.
- See more at: http://westhawaiitoday.com/community-bulletin/man-dies-after-lab-explosion-puna#sthash.8JbzHcjT.dpuf

A 25-year-old Newark man died March 18 in an accident
involving a dump truck on Delaware Route 1 in Milton. According to the Delaware
State Police, the crash occurred around 2:15 p.m. as Daniel J. Murray was
operating a 1996 Nissan Maxima southbound on Route 1 in the left lane
approaching the intersection with Delaware Route 16. Police said a 1993 Ford
Aeromax LTL 9000 dump truck hauling a backhoe on a flatbed trailer was stopped
for a red light in the northbound left lane, waiting to turn westbound onto
Route 16. When the traffic signal for the northbound left turn lane turned
green, police said the dump truck entered into the intersection. At the same
time, police said Murray failed to stop for the southbound red light and struck
the truck in the right front corner causing the Nissan to spin counter
clockwise and continue in a westerly direction before coming to a stop in the
eastbound lanes of Route 16. Police said the dump truck and trailer came to a
controlled stop in the intersection. Murray, who was properly restrained, was
pronounced dead at the scene. The operator of the truck, 54-year-old Alvin E.
Mast of Greenwood, was properly restrained and was not injured in the
collision.